Overview
Andrew J. Lee is a recognized leader in the international antitrust sphere who focuses his practice on antitrust and competition matters, counseling multinational global corporations and executives that have faced high-risk antitrust investigations and disputes globally. His practice in the past decade has particularly focused on advising leading corporations in Asia Pacific in connection with high-profile antitrust investigations that often require close strategic coordination between the United States and other global investigative agencies.
Andrew started his career at the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) during the Clinton Administration, where he helped initiate several major antitrust enforcement actions and assisted the Commission’s leadership in setting broad competition law enforcement policies and agenda. Drawing on this experience, Andrew closely advises clients on preventing, detecting, mitigating and responding to potential antitrust and related business risks within a company.
Andrew today primarily concentrates his antitrust practice on cartel defense and merger review proceedings, as well as strengthening internal compliance controls to minimize regulatory risks.
Due to the international dimension of his practice, Andrew is also viewed as a “trusted strategic advisor” for many of his Korean and Japanese clients on multijurisdictional legal issues that affect their global operations. Andrew has represented his clients on a series of significant US and international matters that span a wide variety of practice areas for the past 15 years.
Andrew’s recent significant client assignments outside the antitrust practice include work in the following areas: privacy and data security global compliance initiatives, CFIUS advice for major transactions, international arbitrations under ICC rules, global consumer product recall management, defense of US consumer class actions, US trade secrets litigation, international trade investigations (AD/CVD), US trade policy advice and M&A advice for biotech transactions.
Results
- Represented several affiliates of Samsung Group before the FTC and the DOJ to obtain expedited antitrust approval in connection with several strategic group-restructuring transactions*
- Represented a leading Korean oil refiner in DOJ grand jury and civil antitrust investigations alleging certain price-fixing conspiracies related to the sale of fuel to the US government. Successfully negotiated settlement agreements in both investigations*
- Represented LG Chem, Ltd. to defend against several multidistrict antitrust class actions alleging certain price-fixing conspiracies involving lithium-ion batteries*
- Represented Toshiba Corp. and its affiliates to defend US civil antitrust class actions arising from DOJ’s antitrust investigations of global manufacturers of TFT-LCD panels*
- Represented Dongwon Industries Co., Ltd and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Starkist Co., to defend the clients against multidistrict antitrust litigation arising from DOJ’s investigation of leading canned seafood manufacturers*
- Represented Stolt-Nielsen S.A. to successfully defeat DOJ’s first-ever attempt to revoke the client’s corporate immunity in the historic decision against DOJ*
- Represented a leading Japanese high-precision manufacturing machinery firm to successfully obtain antitrust approval for the acquisition of its European competitor*
- Represented a leading Japanese manufacturer of automotive parts to obtain complete corporate amnesty in a criminal antitrust investigation by the DOJ*
- Represented a leading Korean global shipbuilder to initiate emergency cross-border arbitration claims for contractual breaches before a London arbitration panel*
- Represented a leading Asian manufacturer of energy storage systems (ESS) to locate and structure several strategic investment opportunities in the United States*
- Represented a leading Korean telecommunications client to develop complete risk mitigation plans for certain export control and sanctions risks in the Middle East*
- Represented a leading Asian industrial components manufacturer to defend against a US anti-dumping investigation under the Trump Administration*
- Represented Keystone Global Co. Ltd. to initiate a civil litigation action and obtain favorable settlements in connection with an energy acquisition transaction*
- Represented WebCT, Inc. in connection with obtaining antitrust clearance for its merger with Blackboard, Inc.*
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott.
Recognitions
- Legal 500 US, Antitrust: Merger Control, 2019
- Legal 500 US, Antitrust: Cartel, 2018 to 2019
Community
Credentials
Education
University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, JD, 1999
Johns Hopkins University, BS, magna cum laude, 1995
Johns Hopkins University, BA, magna cum laude, 1995
Admissions
District of Columbia
Courts/Agencies
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US District Court for the Central District of California
Languages
English
Korean